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Getting Started with People

This guide walks you through your first experience with The One People — from initial setup to adding and onboarding your first employee.

  1. Sign in to any product in The One Stack
  2. Click the waffle menu (grid icon) in the top-left corner
  3. Select People under the Operations category

You'll land on the People dashboard showing KPI cards (total employees, open jobs, pending reviews, active onboarding), recent hires, and any upcoming alerts like probation end dates or expiring certifications.

Initial Setup Checklist​

Before adding employees, configure the basics:

1. Create Departments​

Departments are the foundation of your org chart, reporting structure, and filtering.

  1. Go to Org Chart in the left navigation
  2. Click Manage Departments
  3. Click Add Department
  4. Enter the department name, optional description, and budget/cost center if applicable
  5. Assign a department head (you can do this after adding employees)
  6. Click Save

Repeat for each department: IT, Sales, Operations, Finance, HR, etc.

2. Configure Time Off Policies​

Time off accrual is automatic once employees are set up, but you should verify your policies match your employment contracts.

💡PTO accrual runs daily at 1 AM UTC. Each employee's accrual rate is configured on their individual record under Compensation > Time Off Policy.

3. Set Up Onboarding Templates​

Onboarding templates define the default checklist for new hires in each role. Setting these up before your first employee saves significant time.

  1. Go to Onboarding in the left navigation
  2. Click Templates
  3. Click New Template
  4. Name the template (e.g., "Technical Staff Onboarding")
  5. Add tasks across categories: Documentation, IT Setup, Orientation, Training, Equipment, Access, Policy
  6. For each task: set a title, description, assignee type (HR, IT, Manager, or Employee), and relative due date (e.g., "Day 1", "Week 1")
  7. Save the template

Key Concepts​

ConceptDescription
Employee RecordThe canonical record for a person — contains personal info, employment details, compensation, certifications, and history
DepartmentAn organizational unit with a head, budget, cost center, and one or more employees
Employment StatusActive, On Leave, Suspended, Terminated, or Resigned — controls access and filtering
Employment TypeFull Time, Part Time, Contract, Intern, or Temp
Onboarding WorkflowA checklist of tasks created for a new hire — each task is assigned to a specific role and has a due date
Hub SSOAuthentication for People flows through The One Hub — every People user must be a Hub user first

Adding Your First Employee​

Step 1: Create the Employee Record​

  1. Navigate to Employees in the left navigation
  2. Click Add Employee
  3. Fill in the required fields:
    • First Name and Last Name
    • Work Email — this becomes their login for all One Stack products
    • Job Title
    • Department — select from your configured departments
    • Employment Type — Full Time, Part Time, Contract, Intern, or Temp
    • Start Date / Hire Date
    • Manager — select an existing employee (leave blank for the first person)
  4. Fill in optional fields:
    • Phone, Personal Email, Date of Birth
    • Location — office location or city
    • Remote — toggle if this is a remote employee
    • Probation End Date — People will alert you when this approaches
  5. Click Save

The employee record is created with status Active.

Step 2: Add Compensation Details​

  1. Open the employee record you just created
  2. Click the Compensation tab
  3. Enter:
    • Salary — annual or hourly amount and currency
    • Time Off Policy — accrual rate for PTO, sick days, and personal days
  4. Click Save
ℹ️Compensation data is restricted to users with the admin or hr_manager role. HR staff and managers cannot view salary details.

Step 3: Add Emergency Contacts​

  1. Still on the employee record, click the Emergency Contacts tab
  2. Click Add Contact
  3. Enter: Name, Relationship, Phone, Email
  4. Click Save

Step 4: Start Onboarding​

  1. Navigate to Onboarding in the left navigation
  2. Click New Onboarding
  3. Select the employee you just created
  4. Select an onboarding template (or start from scratch)
  5. Set the Target Completion Date (typically 30-90 days from start date)
  6. Optionally assign an Onboarding Buddy — a peer who helps the new hire settle in
  7. Review the tasks and adjust assignees or due dates as needed
  8. Click Start Onboarding

People automatically notifies assigned team members of their tasks.

Step 5: Send Welcome Documents​

  1. Navigate to E-Sign in the left navigation
  2. Click New Document
  3. Select document type: Offer Letter, NDA, I-9 Verification, or Handbook Acknowledgment
  4. Select the employee as the signer
  5. Review the generated document content
  6. Click Send for Signature

The employee receives an email with a secure link to sign the document. Signed documents are stored permanently in the e-sign vault.

Role Reference​

People uses a role hierarchy that controls what each user can do:

RoleWhat They Can Do
OwnerEverything — full admin, payroll, all settings
AdminAll HR operations, user management, policies, reports
HR ManagerCreate reviews, post jobs, manage hiring, run reports
HR StaffManage onboarding, approve time off, manage candidates
ManagerApprove time off and reviews for direct reports
ViewerView-only access to employee records and org chart
ℹ️Roles in People are set via Hub. Navigate to Hub > Users to assign People roles to your team members.

Next Steps​